Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has announced that he is resigning as defense minister so he can run for the presidency.

Quoting a military source, the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper said Sisi was expected to announce the decision in a broadcasted statement.

Sisi, who deposed President Mohammad Morsi last year in what many dubbed as a coup, is said to have a high chance of winning the election.

However latest tough measures against popular Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi, who was the first democratically-elected president of the country, has left the country in chaos, marked with nearly daily protests.

The government has announced Brotherhood as a terrorist group and in their latest crackdown on supporters of the group, an upper court issued death sentence for more than 500 brotherhood supporters in a single trial.

Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood have vowed to reverse government's decision to declare the movement a terrorist group, and called for the new wave of protests to continue until the end of March or until their demands are met.